


You Are Loved (And Don't You Forget It)

by heartlights



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Spencer Reid, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:48:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24950338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartlights/pseuds/heartlights
Summary: Spencer is taken by the unsub and he realizes just how much the team cares
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss & Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid & David Rossi, Spencer Reid & Penelope Garcia (mentioned), Spencer Reid & The BAU Team
Comments: 6
Kudos: 262





	You Are Loved (And Don't You Forget It)

**Author's Note:**

> hey, guys! i'm trying to get more into writing, so i'm going based off prompts and seeing which fandom and which character matches the prompt, or something like that. i'd be open for requests, so if you have something that you wanted to see, feel free to let me know! as i said before, i want to get back into writing, so i'm just looking through prompts or requests if i see one :)) i'm planning to write for criminal minds and marvel as of right now, but i'll let you know if anything changes. i hope this was okay! it's not my best work, but i'm trying. the more i write, the better i'll get. at least i hope so
> 
> Edited? No

_“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” - Helen Keller_

The last kick was sent to Spencer’s stomach and he laid there, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Danny Rogers, the unsub who killed children as a surrogate for his son who killed his wife while he was out of town, taunted him one last time before making his way out the metal door, leaving Spencer a groaning mess on the ground. The door shut with a small click and Spencer heard a jingle of keys behind the door fade away. 

He coughed, sending a wave of pain to his stomach. Everything ached. He would usually know how long he’d been in the small room he was in now, but the pain was excruciating and that was all he could focus on. He had eventually moved until his back hit the wall, his arm resting protectively on his chest, and that was where he was situated, waiting for his team to find him. _If_ they found him. As far as he knew, the team thought he was at the first victim’s house. Spencer was supposed to find more evidence to see if he could find the whereabouts of Danny and instead, he found Danny who hit him on his head with the butt of his gun. Spencer passed out then and now he was here.

Maybe Danny was right. While he was taunting Spencer, he had told him that he was pathetic and weak and the team only kept him because he was smart. Maybe they didn’t really care for him like he does for them. Spencer shook his head, trying to shake those thoughts away. He knew they were irrational thoughts, but he just couldn’t help it. When stuck in a small room, there’s nothing to do but be stuck in his thoughts, both good and bad. He shifted slightly, the movement jostling his most likely broken ribs and he let out a sharp breath. 

_Bad move_ , he thought, stilling his movement.

Hopefully, the team will find out his location because the children are mostly likely in the same building. He had heard a child’s scream of pain and fear from below him. All he has to do now is wait until the team finds it, and they will. He had no doubt about it. Spencer closed his eyes. Until then, he decided, he will rest his eyes for a moment. Just a moment.

Through the haze of pain he was in, his thoughts drifted to his team. He had known them for five years now -- he would’ve known the exact number if the pain wasn’t blinding him -- and his team felt more like a family to him now, a family he didn’t ask for but gained from the job. 

Hotch, though strict, was more of a dad to him than his own father ever was. Hotch still saw him as a kid -- he doesn’t say it outright but Spencer could see the concern in his eyes when he’s in harm’s way, -- but he still gave him chances to prove himself, which Spencer was grateful for. 

Rossi was the same way. Spencer met Rossi last, and he had always given Spencer a chance to show that he was a capable agent both on the field and off while still standing a few feet behind him to show that he wasn’t alone and that Rossi had his back.

He could confide with JJ and Emily and knew that he could trust them with what he wanted to say. They knew he was a private person, so it meant something to him to have someone he can talk to and know they won’t purposefully share it publicly. More often than not, they acted as if they were his older sisters. He’d never had any siblings, but they were a close substitute for one.

Garcia, like Spencer, were two of the youngest members of the team, so it wasn’t a surprise that they would be close. She was almost always positive and she would always try to see the good in people and Spencer knew that he needed the reminder at times and Garcia was always happy to give him that. She always made sure that he took some time to have fun and not to focus solely on his job. It goes with no question that he needed some fun in his life with all of the despair and violence he has to deal with during the job so having Garcia with him was a blessing.

And then there’s Morgan. Constantly teasing him and giving him a hard time but underneath all the teasing, Spencer knew that he meant no harm and he worried about his well being, like an older brother would. He often showed a fierce protectiveness when it involved Spencer getting into danger. Although it can be annoying sometimes, he’d never had someone look after him as much as Morgan had, so he did learn to appreciate the gesture. Not without reassuring that he could handle it, of course.

Everyone saw him as their little brother, he knew that considering that he was the youngest on the team. Though he doesn’t acknowledge it, he knew his team was sending each other worried looks when something was happening to him when he wasn’t looking. And it goes without question that they were all very protective over him. That’s why he felt the need to prove to them that he can handle whatever comes to him. They saw him as young and innocent who needed to be protected and Spencer wanted to show that he could handle it. He could do it like the rest of them. That he’s strong enough. And capable. 

Spencer didn’t know how long he had dozed off but the sound of heavy footsteps woke him up. He glanced around to see if there was anything to defend himself in case it was the unsub but there was nothing around. He flinched back when the door was kicked open, hissing in pain. His arm was still resting protectively over his chest. He looked up to find Morgan standing at the door but rushed forward when he saw Spencer near the wall.

“Reid!” Morgan’s brows were furrowed as he checked to see if there were any more injuries. He lowered his head. “Hotch, I found him. Last door on your right.” Morgan turned his attention to Spencer, who had a small smile on his face. “Reid, you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Spencer said. “You found me.”

Morgan extended his hand. “Of course I would. Steady now.” Spencer accepted his hand, wincing when Morgan helped him up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”  
  


Spencer nodded, leaning on Morgan when he saw stars. He saw Hotch and Rossi walk in, JJ and Emily behind them. “Yeah, I just need a minute.”

“Spence,” JJ whispered, bringing him into a hug. He tried to hide the wince but he wasn’t sure if he was successful. From the look on their faces, he wasn’t.

Emily touched his arm in concern. “Let’s get you out of here.”

Spencer pulled back, shaking his head. “No, I want to help find him.”

“Reid--”

Spencer interrupted Morgan before he could protest. “I told you I’m fine. We need to find Brady. The unsub is most likely with him right now. The others were surrogates. Brady is his son. We know that this is his endgame. He will put all his anger out on him. We need to find him before he hurts him more. I can help. I think I know where he is.”

“As much as it pains me to say this, he’s right,” Rossi said. He looked at Spencer, concern still visible in his eyes. “Are you sure he’s here?”

Spencer nodded. He moved forward with no help. He took it slow, Morgan still beside him. “I heard him screaming.” 

Hotch looked at him worriedly for a moment before hardening his gaze. “Okay, but once we find him, you need to have a medic check over you. I’m not asking,” He added when he saw Spencer open his mouth to protest.

Knowing that he couldn’t argue, Spencer reluctantly agreed, grabbed his revolver from Morgan who found it laying by the front door of the house, and they all moved out the door. He moved slowly, but he couldn’t help the gasp that fell from his lips when he moved too quickly. He waved Morgan off when he moved forward to help. He didn’t miss them glancing at each other with similar looks of concern on their faces. 

Going downstairs was hard; every step was painful. Nevertheless, he clenched his teeth and continued forward, following everyone down the stairs. Each had their guns raised. There were two long hallways on each side of them, so half moved left while the other half moved right. Spencer moved right along with Morgan and JJ. There were three doors on each side of the hallway: JJ at the last door, Spencer at the first door near the stairs, Morgan between them. Morgan counted down from three and together, they pushed the door open and moved inside to their respective rooms.

Spencer walked slowly in the room, raising his gun and looking around. The room was empty. No sign of Brady or Danny anywhere. The walls were covered with dried blood, but the floor was squeaky clean. The smell of bleach was strong enough that it made him dizzy. Shaking it off, he exited the room and saw Morgan and JJ doing the same. Morgan motioned for them to check the door opposite to them. Again, the rooms were empty. Meeting the others by the stairs, they too haven’t found Brady or the unsub.

“This was where the unsub tortured the children,” Emily said grimly. “Blood was all over the walls.”

Spencer nodded. “I think it’s the same for all of the rooms. What’s weird, though, is he took time to clean the floors with bleach but not the walls.”

“Brady was here,” Hotch said, frowning. “The blood on the walls of one room was still fresh and there were droplets of blood by the window.”

Rossi had his eyebrows furrowed. “We’re missing something then. If he was here, then where would the unsub take him? It looked like he was in a rush to leave. He didn’t bother to clean up that room like he did with the other rooms.” He turned to Spencer. “Did you notice anything odd around the house?”

Spencer started shaking his head but paused. He remembered while he was too hurt to move, the door had been open when Danny was kicking him. If he remembered correctly, there had been a set of keys hanging on the wall. He didn’t see it when the team got to him. “Actually, there might be something.”

Morgan stepped forward. “What is it, kid?”

Spencer looked away, his arm still resting on his stomach. “When Danny was in the room with me, I was barely conscious.” Spencer noticed everyone tense up when he said that. “But there was a set of keys hanging outside the room I was in. It’s not there now, which means he probably took it with him when he took Brady.” He looked around the hallway. “But where?”

“Maybe there’s something in the room Brady was in that we missed,” Emily said, her eyes never leaving Reid. He still had his eyes away from them.

They all made their way back to the room. Just like what Hotch said, the blood looked fresh and the drops of blood were near the window. They all scattered around the room, looking for things that they could have missed. While the others were farther into the room, Spencer stayed by the door. The adrenaline of possibly finding Brady had kept the pain down but now, he could feel the adrenaline draining away. He put a hand to the door, dizzy all of a sudden. He glanced around to see if anyone noticed. They weren’t looking at him, but he had a suspicion that they already knew. Spencer heard footsteps farther behind him and the team was here with him. So who could it be? He turned to look but something pushed him down hard. Or rather, someone.

All the air left him as he was left wheezing on the floor and the dull pain became a fiery agony. He gasped, the pain so blinding it was making breathing hard. His thoughts were clouded and his vision was blurry. He could barely make out his team facing most likely the unsub, all their guns raised and pointed at the figure behind him. He couldn’t move, so he squeezed his eyes shut, resting his head on the ground as he waited for the nausea to go away. After a moment, Spencer could hear an antagonizing voice in the background followed by another voice or it might have been multiple voices, but it was much calmer though the voice was still angry and Spencer didn’t know why. He couldn’t hear the words though; they were unclear through the haze. There was a small breeze coming from behind him and he blinked his eyes open. It must’ve been the unsub behind him.

He could see five figures in front of him; they each glanced at him quickly before looking back to whoever was behind him. Spencer wrapped an arm around his chest in a weak attempt to protect himself, and he reached up blindly with his other hand. He didn’t know why or what he was looking for, but he wanted to get away so he kept fumbling for something to hold onto. He didn’t get far; Danny had placed his foot on his back and Spencer screamed in pain as the boot crushed his chest to the ground, placing weight on his already bruised ribs.

He heard multiple gunshots through the pain and the pressure finally left. It took a lot of power to not curl in on himself. Spencer used his hand to push himself on his feet but every time, he collapsed back to the ground. Eventually, he ended up on all fours, a mixture of blood and spit oozing from his lips as he tried to keep the bile from leaving his lips. Although his vision was a bit more clear, his head was spinning and he wasn’t able to control the heaving in his stomach and he eliminated all of his stomach’s content, which was mostly bile, onto the floor by his hands, leaving him trembling and weak. His ribs were throbbing now.

His vision blurred out again, and he toppled to the ground, exhausted from keeping himself up. He blinked, staring at the white ceiling and willing for the pain to go away. There was someone beside him now, and he saw JJ leaning over him. He looked behind her and saw Morgan and Emily looking at him with barely concealed worry in their eyes. Hotch and Rossi were nowhere to be found, probably trying to find Brady.

Spencer could feel her hands on his face as he watched her turn back to ask about the eta of the medics. “J--” He started but something tickled his throat and he coughed, sending another wave of pain to his chest. He groaned. After a moment, he tried again. “JJ?”

JJ looked at him, her terrified eyes never looking away from him. Spencer tried getting up, but JJ didn’t let him. “Spence, don’t. Don’t try to get up. It’ll only get worse if you do.”

He watched Emily go on his other side. She knelt down beside him. “Medics are on their way. Hang in there. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself. With hooded eyes, he saw Hotch and Rossi enter the room. They mentioned that the boy is out safe with the police and that they are surveying the house right now.

“Medic should be here in less than a minute,” Hotch said, his eyes roaming Spencer’s frame for any other signs of injury.

“How are you holding up, kid?” Rossi stood beside Hotch. They all had concern in their eyes and Spencer groaned. He hated feeling like a baby, especially to them. “And don’t lie. We will know.”

“I-I’m fine,” Spencer said. He spoke again before they could protest. “I swear I’m fine. He just knocked the wind out of me, that's all. It's just broken ribs, nothing serious.” He paused but only for a second. “Did you know that 85% of fractured ribs heal on their own in six weeks? All it would take is to avoid any activities that could further injure the ribs and it will be fine.”

“Uh-huh. Well, you’re still going to get looked at,” Morgan pitched in. “Sorry, pretty boy, you’re not getting out of that one.”

Spencer sighed, closing his eyes. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince them otherwise. The sound of sirens could be heard in the room and Spencer watched as most of the tension left their shoulder. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hotch move by the door to announce their presence to the medics and soon enough, he saw unfamiliar faces in his line of sight. He started, but JJ reassured him that it was the medics and he relaxed only slightly. Spencer told them it was only broken ribs but of course, they still wanted to run some tests to make sure. 

They lifted him up to get him into the gurney and he could barely hide the wince of pain when they finally got him situated. He knew that it didn’t go unnoticed by his team. They all followed after him and when he reached the ambulance, JJ insisted that she ride with him. After the team said that they’ll meet them there, the ambulance doors closed and they were on their way. JJ held his hand the whole way.

\------

After several tests, Spencer is finally in a hospital room, waiting for the okay to leave. The results came back and it was indeed just broken ribs but nothing serious. He would heal within six weeks. JJ had to wait in the waiting room, as for the rest of his team. He knew it wouldn’t be long until they walked in. He sighed, closing his eyes and shifting to make himself more comfortable. He stilled for a bit when there was tight pressure on his chest but continued when it passed.

For a moment, he just laid there, thinking of nothing. Then suddenly, a memory of Danny kicking his stomach flashed in his head and he quickly opened his eyes in an attempt to prevent the memory from overwhelming him. He took a shaky breath just as there was a soft knock at the door. It opened and JJ peeped in.

She smiled when she saw him looking at her. “Hey, Spence,” She said, making her way towards the bed. Spencer saw the others following after her. “How are you feeling?”

Spencer watched the others surround the bed. “I’m fine. I already told you, it’s just broken ribs. It’ll heal. It’s not bad.” He looked at everyone, who still had concern in their eyes. Spencer huffed. “Guys, I swear. I’m fine.”

“You always say that, kid,” Morgan said worriedly. “Look, I know you want to do this on your own because that’s what you’re used to, right? But let me tell you something and I need you to listen to me. You don’t have to do this alone anymore, okay? Look around you. We’re all here.”

Spencer looked away. “I know, I just--never had anyone care about me like this before.”

It was quiet for a moment. Emily reached out to pat him on the leg. “Well, you better get used to it then. Because you’ll always have us.”

Spencer smiled, finally looking at everyone. “Thanks.”

“Now tell us,” Rossi piped in. “How are you really feeling?”

“My ribs are sore,” Spencer said eventually, “and it will be sore for a while, but I’ll be okay.”

“And that he will be,” a new voice said from the door. It was the doctor who helped him. She walked in and handed him a paper and he looked at it to find that it was an after visit summary. “You’re clear to leave. Just make sure you don’t do any tedious activities that require you to do heavy lifting and it’ll heal before you know it. A lot of rest should do the trick. I’ve also prescribed some pain medications if you need them.”

Spencer nodded, though he wasn't going to be using them anytime soon. “Got it, thanks.”

The doctor smiled. “You guys have a good day, then.”

Once the doctor left, Hotch turned to Spencer. “Now that you’re cleared, take it easy for a few days. Take a few days off to rest and then we can talk about getting you back on the field. You need to heal first. Got it?”

“But Hotch, I’m—”

“Got it?”

Spencer sighed, nodding reluctantly. “Got it.”

Hotch waited to see Spencer nod before turning to leave. “Good. I’ll see you on the jet.”

Morgan ruffled his hair, finally letting a smile form on his face after seeing that Spencer would be all right. “Prepare yourself, pretty boy. Because someone is waiting for you to get back and she’s going to be relentless, I’ll tell you that.”

Spencer groaned, but his lips curved into a smile as he got off the bed with Morgan’s help. Sure enough, when they got back, Garcia never left him alone for the remaining time he was in the office. He pretended to be annoyed but deep down, he appreciated and loved how she as well as the others, his family, cared so much. Though he won’t be saying that out loud, ever, that’s for sure.

_“One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is love.” - Sophocles_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! i hope it turned out okay. i tried to picture the characters saying it, so hopefully it sounds like they're in character. i'm open to any feedback, just please be nice about it. thank you!


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